Bayer sold its polyester resins business in the US to Stepan

Bayer MaterialScience has agreed to sell its global powder polyester resins business and its US-based liquid polyester resins merchant business to Stepan Company of Northfield, Illinois.Both Bayer businesses are located in Columbus, Georgia, the US. The sale is scheduled to be completed by June 1. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“The divestiture allows us to focus on our core competencies,” explained Daniel Meyer, Head of the Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties business unit at Bayer MaterialScience AG. “We believe we have found the right home for our North American polyester resins business and look forward to watching it develop further successfully under new ownership.”

Bayer will retain its trade name Desmophen to continue to sell its diverse portfolio of products to the coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers industries around the world, including liquid polyester resins in markets outside the US.

“This acquisition will significantly expand Stepan’s polyol product offering. Stepan is a leading producer of polyester polyol used in rigid insulation foam. This acquisition will diversify our polyol offering and accelerate our efforts to grow in CASE [coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers] and PUSH [Polyurethane Systems House] applications,” said F Quinn Stepan Jr, President and CEO of Stepan Company. “We intend to make future capital expenditures to expand the capabilities at Columbus.”

Bayer acquired the Columbus facility in 2000 when it purchased Sybron Chemicals Inc. Today, the facility includes both commercial and production operations, serving the North America market.